Sharing big data using blockchain technologies in local governments: Some technical, organizational and policy considerations

Abstract

Governments have vast data resources related to a wide-variety of policies and programs. Integrating and sharing data across agencies and departments can add value to these data resources and bring about significant changes in public services as well as better government decisions. However, in addition to the lack of standards and an adequate information architecture, the main obstacles to a centralized government data-sharing strategy are security and privacy concerns. Blockchain - a decentralized peer-to-peer distributed ledger technology - provides a new way to develop sharing mechanisms. In addition, blockchain-based systems are difficult to tamper with and are highly traceable. Based on the current problems of a big data center in the city of Ningbo, China, this paper identifies limitations of this approach and explores the potential of some data sharing mechanism based on blockchain technology. Our analysis describes some potential advantages and the feasibility of using distributed data sharing and automated management mechanisms based on blockchain smart contracts. We also explore implementation challenges and provide some practical recommendations.

An Effective Big Data Sharing Prototype Based on Ethereum Blockchain

“…is hinders the transformation of data value and human social progress [13]. e root cause of this phenomenon is the lack of a transparent, open, and credible data-sharing environment for all parties involved in data sharing.…”

Blockchain for Public Services: A Systematic Literature Review

“…Other potential benefits for government from blockchain include its decentralized structure, which helps guarantee greater data security, since it reduces their dependency on information silos [28]. In this regard, once data is authenticated by the members of the blockchain, the information cannot be manipulated by a node without being detected by the rest of the nodes, which limits the risk and damage of single points of failure.…”

“…Some of the data of government departments and public services providers are closely related to citizens' personal information. The merging of data from multiple sources may be used to form a ''full profile'' of each citizen, which clearly affects privacy [28]. Using blockchain, different protocols can be used to encrypt the data and anonymise it, in order to avoid this risk [89].…”

What Do We Really Need? A Systematic Literature Review of the Requirements for Blockchain-Based E-government Services

“…Concerning the detection and combat of such misbehavior, blockchain technology may create significant value [32,35]. Besides, blockchain technology can be very beneficial in sharing data for e-government applications, especially for the citizens' privacy and data reliability [36,37]. Depending on those use cases, blockchain applications' design and governance may differ.…”